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The United States is Falling Apart and the World is Taking Notice (www.counterpunch.org)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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In three weeks, Donald Trump has imploded whatever positive image the United States might have had internationally.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

I think that a changed voting system is a reasonable step towards solving the wider constellation of problems.

If we're forming a governing body from scratch, I agree. No reason to start the democratic process suboptimally.

But we've experimented with alternative voting schemes in the US before. Eric Adams was elected under Cardinal Voting, ffs. The rationalist theory of voting doesn't work in districts or elections where one candidate has an outsized war chest or media presence.

However, I do think that FPTP is reinforcing the problem of media monopolies and nationalistic popularism.

I would argue it's a symptom more than a problem. Systems that favor incumbents and reinforce entrenched interests are going to be championed by incumbents.

Past that, I don't really need ten mid candidates. I need one good one, with a coalition ready to rally behind them. Raising the intensity of competition and the number of competing factions makes for better TV drama than an election system.